OWASPGuideApr 2026
OWASP Top 10 2026 — A Practical Checklist for Engineering Teams
Refreshed for the 2026 release. Concrete remediation patterns, sample exploits, and CI test coverage notes for each category.
13 min read
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Operator-Led Offensive Security
We Breach It
Before They Do.
CREST-aligned penetration testing and red team engagements, run by certified operators — not scanners. Every finding is manually exploited, chained into a real attack path, and closed out with a free retest.
CREST METHODOLOGYMITRE ATT&CKOWASP TOP 10ISO 27001DPDP ACT 2023
CREST
Aligned methodology
MITRE
ATT&CK TTP coverage
Free
Retest in every scope
Run against the frameworks buyers ask about
- CRESTAligned methodology
- MITRE ATT&CKTTP coverage
- OWASP Top 10Web & API testing
- ISO 27001Controls mapping
- DPDP Act 2023India data compliance
- 100%
- manually exploited
- 14
- ATT&CK tactics
- 10
- OWASP categories
- 1
- retest, in scope
Every finding proven by hand — no scanner-only criticals.
Enterprise matrix mapped across the kill chain.
Top-10 web & API risks covered end to end.
Re-validation of fixes ships with every engagement.
Offensive security services we deliver
VAPT
PENETRATION TESTING
Red Team
ATTACK SIMULATION
Adversary Simulation
TTPS / MITRE ATT&CK
Web Application
OWASP TOP 10
API Security
REST / GRAPHQL
Cloud Security
AWS / AZURE / GCP
Mobile Application
iOS / ANDROID
Compliance
SOC 2 / ISO 27001
Our Services
Adversarial Security, End-to-End
Six disciplines, one operator-led standard. From API fuzzing to nation-state simulation — every engagement is human-led, framework-mapped, and ships actionable intelligence with a free retest. Not just a PDF.
VAPT
Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing
OWASP ASVS L1–L3scope-defined standard
Authenticated scanning plus manual expert testing across web, API, mobile, network and cloud. Every finding is human-validated, CVSS-scored and shipped with a working proof of concept.
Web AppAPI SecurityMobileNetworkCloud
CWE-mapped findings with CVSS v3.1 + v4.0 vectors, curl-ready PoC exploits, developer-facing remediation, and one free retest within 30 days. Exports to Jira, DefectDojo and GitHub Security.
Frameworks
PTES
OWASP ASVS
NIST SP 800-115
CREST CHECK
Deliverables
Executive Summary
Technical Findings
CVSS-Ranked Risk
Free 30-Day Retest
Compliance Mapping
Red Teaming
Full Kill-Chain Adversary Operations
258-day breach lifecyclethe number we exist to cut
Goal-driven operations against production: initial access, lateral movement, persistence and objective completion under realistic OPSEC — then a purple-team replay so your SOC keeps the detections.
MITRE ATT&CKC2 OpsAD Attack PathsSocial Eng.Assumed Breach
Per-engagement C2 infrastructure, payloads tested against your EDR build, timestamped operator logs. Delivered with a kill-chain narrative, ATT&CK heat-map and Sigma/KQL/SPL detection content.
Frameworks
MITRE ATT&CK
TIBER-EU
CBEST
CREST CCRTS
Deliverables
Kill-Chain Narrative
ATT&CK Heat-Map
Detection Content
Purple-Team Replay
Remediation Roadmap
Adversary Simulation
Breach & Attack Simulation · Purple Team
20–30 atomics / monthcontinuous detection coverage
Continuous BAS mapped to the techniques of named threat actors. Validate SOC, SIEM and EDR coverage technique-by-technique, then walk away with detection rules written against your own telemetry.
CalderaAtomic Red TeamSOC ValidationEDR/XDRThreat Intel
Per-technique detection matrix (fired / alerted / triaged / time-to-detect), trended ATT&CK heat-map, and a versioned Sigma / KQL / SPL / EQL / CQL detection pack you keep and extend.
Frameworks
MITRE ATT&CK
ATT&CK Navigator
MITRE D3FEND
Atomic Red Team
Deliverables
Detection Heatmap
Per-Technique Matrix
Tuning Backlog
Detection Pack
KPI Scorecard
Cloud Security
AWS · Azure · GCP · OCI Assessment
Full IAM attack graphnot just a CSPM checklist
CSPM tooling tells you what is misconfigured. We prove which misconfigurations chain into a working attack path — IAM graph analysis, Kubernetes admission testing, serverless and IaC review.
CSPM ReviewIAM Attack PathsKubernetesServerlessIaC Scanning
Read-only IAM graph extraction, directed attack-path diagram with per-edge PoCs, EKS/AKS/GKE RBAC review, and Terraform / Bicep remediation snippets. Mapped to CIS Benchmarks and MITRE ATT&CK Cloud.
Frameworks
CIS Benchmarks
NIST SP 800-204D
MITRE ATT&CK Cloud
CSA CCM v4
Deliverables
CSPM Gap Report
IAM Attack-Path Diagram
Kubernetes Review
Segmentation Test
Free 30-Day Retest
DevSecOps
Program Build & CI/CD Pipeline Hardening
300+ → <20 findingsscanner noise, tuned in 4 weeks
Security shifted to the keyboard, not the pull request. SAST + SCA tuning, secret scanning at pre-commit, IaC policy-as-code and runtime DAST wired into CI/CD — with severity gates, owners and SLAs.
SAST + SCASecret ScanningPolicy-as-CodeDAST in CISBOM / SLSA
Sub-5-second pre-commit feedback, tuned Semgrep/CodeQL rule packs, OPA/Rego policy gates, SPDX + CycloneDX SBOMs, and DORA metrics before/after. Median developer impact: +30s per PR.
Frameworks
OWASP SAMM v2
BSIMM
NIST SSDF 800-218
SLSA v1.0
Deliverables
SAMM Maturity Roadmap
Tuned CI Gates
Policy Library
Metrics Dashboard
Pipeline Runbooks
Compliance Audits
SOC 2 · ISO 27001 · PCI DSS · GDPR · DPDP
Audit-ready evidence packdrops into your assessor's queue
Gap analysis, technical control testing and audit-ready evidence — delivered by people who have lived through these audits on both sides of the table. Same engineers who run our VAPT practice test the controls.
SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022PCI DSS v4.0GDPR / DPDPRBI / CERT-In
Control-by-control gap analysis, risk-treatment plan with named owners, policy drafting, technical control testing with CVSS, and assessor liaison through fieldwork. Dual-track GDPR + DPDP mapping where it helps.
Frameworks
ISO 27001:2022
SOC 2 TSC
PCI DSS v4.0
DPDP Act 2023
Deliverables
Gap Analysis
Risk Register
Policy Pack
Evidence Build
Auditor Liaison
Not sure which engagement fits your risk picture?
Send us your asset inventory and audit deadline — we scope it and respond with a fixed-fee proposal and a sample report from a comparable engagement.
Why AxVeil
Concrete differentiators, not slogans.
Four things define an operator-led engagement. Below them, six axes where it diverges from a generic VAPT against the industry baseline.
Operator-Led
named accountabilityIndustry defaultJunior tester running a scanner playbook, rotated mid-engagement.
AxVeilA CRTO/OSCP-certified operator scopes, tests, and signs the report — named in the SOW.
Manual Exploitation
proven, not flaggedIndustry defaultA list of scanner hits passed through CVSS with no validation.
AxVeilEvery finding is hand-exploited to confirm real impact — false positives are filtered out before you see them.
Chained Findings
attack-path proofIndustry defaultIsolated medium-severity issues that look ignorable in a vacuum.
AxVeilWe chain low/medium issues into full attack paths — showing how a foothold becomes domain admin.
Retest In Scope
verified closureIndustry defaultReport delivered, engagement closed — re-validation is a new SOW and a new bill.
AxVeilA free retest within 30 days, run by the same operator, confirms your fixes actually hold.
Dimension
Industry Baseline
AxVeil
Operator Profile
Junior tester running a scanner playbook
Every engagement led by a CRTO/OSCP-certified operator with named accountability
Methodology
Generic scanner output passed through CVSS
CREST-aligned scoping, MITRE ATT&CK TTP coverage, OWASP testing guides
Exploitation
Vulnerability list — no chain validation
Manual exploitation chain validation, end to end, not just scanner output
Reporting
PDF dump with copy-pasted CVE descriptions
One-page board summary + technical report with reproducible PoC + remediation tickets per finding
Coverage
Network perimeter + known CVEs only
Web, API, cloud, mobile, AD, supply chain, LLM/AI surface in scope
Post-Engagement
Report delivered, engagement closed
Retest within 30 days included in the price — same operator, no new SOW
Why this matters — the industry baseline
Sourced figures. We do not publish self-reported efficacy stats.
$4.88MGlobal average breach cost
Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 ↗258 daysMean time to identify & contain
Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 ↗~180%Vulnerability exploitation as initial access (YoY growth)
Source: Verizon DBIR 2024 ↗Certifications held across the team
OSCPCRTOCRTEOSWEBSCPCISSPCISMISO 27001 LA
How We Work
One engagement, five accountable gates.
No black boxes. Every engagement runs the same operator-led lifecycle — and you know exactly what lands in your inbox at each stage.
Scope
We agree the rules of engagement, in-scope assets, objectives and OPSEC constraints — then name the operator who signs the SOW.
- Rules of Engagement
- Signed SOW
- Named operator
Recon
Active and passive reconnaissance maps your real attack surface — the assets, identities and exposures an adversary would find first.
- Attack-surface map
- Asset inventory
- Exposure triage
Exploit
Every candidate finding is manually exploited and chained into a real attack path — foothold to objective — with reproducible proof.
- Validated findings
- Attack-path chains
- Working PoCs
Report
A one-page board summary plus a technical report: each finding scored, reproduced, and paired with a remediation ticket your engineers can action.
- Board summary
- Technical report
- Remediation tickets
Retest
Within 30 days the same operator re-runs the validated findings against your fixes — at no extra cost — and confirms closure in writing.
- Free 30-day retest
- Closure attestation
- Updated report
The Standard, In Numbers
- Manually exploited findings
- 100%
- Free retest window
- 30 days
- Named in your SOW
- 1 operator
Manually exploited findings
No raw scanner output ships in a report — every finding is hand-validated.
Free retest window
Same operator re-validates your fixes, included in every engagement.
Named in your SOW
A CRTO/OSCP-certified lead scopes, tests, and signs — no anonymous rotation.
We publish verifiable commitments and externally sourced benchmarks only — never self-reported efficacy percentages we cannot audit.
What You Receive
Evidence you can act on. Proof you can show.
Every engagement closes with a defined set of artifacts — from a board-ready summary to a signed retest letter. Here is exactly what lands in your inbox.
Executive Summary
One-page, board-ready risk narrative — no jargon, mapped to business impact and a clear remediation runway.
PDF · 1 pageTechnical Report
Per-finding detail: reproducible proof-of-concept, CVSS vector, affected assets, and evidence screenshots.
PDF · full detailRemediation Guidance
Prioritised, developer-ready fix tickets — exact patch versions, config changes, and code-level direction.
Per findingRetest Letter
After the free 30-day retest, a signed attestation confirming which findings are closed — share it with auditors and clients.
Signed · auditor-ready
Inside the report
A live preview of the executive dashboard and developer report — the same format every client receives.
axveil.report — 2024-Q4-Audit.pdf
Overall Risk Score
8.2/ 10
CRITICAL RISK
Finding Severity Breakdown
CRITICAL
4
HIGH
14
MEDIUM
31
LOW
52
INFO
108
Data Breach Probability
9.4
Regulatory Penalty Exposure (DPDP)
8.1
Operational Disruption Risk
6.8
Reputational Damage Index
7.2
axveil.report — Retest-Attestation-Letter.pdf
CLOSEDFree retest · within 30 days
Statement of Remediation
Following the 30-day retest, AxVeil re-validates each prior finding and issues a signed attestation of which issues are confirmed remediated. Hand it to auditors, regulators, or your customers as independent proof your fixes hold.
4 of 4 CRITICAL findings — confirmed remediated
13 of 14 HIGH findings — confirmed remediated
1 HIGH finding — risk-accepted with documented compensating control
Signed by
Lead Operator
OSCP · CRTO
Industries We Secure
Regulated, high-stakes, adversary-targeted.
We map each engagement to the regulations you answer to and the threats your sector actually faces — not a generic checklist.
Fintech & Banking
RBI · SEBI · PCI DSS v4.0
Payment-rail abuse, broken auth, and API logic flaws on money movement.
SaaS & Technology
SOC 2 · ISO 27001 · GDPR
Multi-tenant isolation breaks and IDOR exposing other customers' data.
Healthcare
HIPAA · GDPR · DPDP Act 2023
PHI exfiltration and ransomware against legacy clinical systems.
E-commerce & Retail
PCI DSS v4.0 · GDPR · DPDP
Card skimming, coupon/price tampering, and account-takeover at scale.
Critical Infrastructure
CERT-In · NIST CSF · IEC 62443
OT/IT convergence gaps and segmentation failures on operational networks.
Government & Public
CERT-In · ISO 27001 · DPDP
Citizen-data exposure and supply-chain compromise of public services.
The Operator
Founder-Led. No Hand-Offs.
The person scoping your engagement is the same person running it, writing the report, and walking your engineers through the debrief.
4+ years of offensive security delivery across 80+ client engagements covering web, mobile, API, infrastructure, Active Directory and cloud. Track record on enterprise-scale VAPT — government (200+ servers, 40+ apps), shipping and logistics (2000+ servers, 65+ apps), banking sector in Oman (1000+ servers, 100+ apps). Translates technical findings into business risk and drives remediation directly with development and IT teams.
4+
Years offensive security
80+
Client engagements
3000+
Servers assessed
200+
Applications tested
Certifications
OSCPCEH v12
Speaks At
NULLCON GoaBSides Bangalore
Specialises In
Web, Mobile & API VAPT
Active Directory & infrastructure pentesting
Cloud security (AWS / Azure / GCP)
LLM & AI security testing
Configuration review (CIS / NIST)
Secure code review (Fortify / Semgrep)
Associate Network
Specialist operators brought in for scope.
Engagements that exceed a single operator's domain are extended with vetted associates who own a specific surface. Every associate is named in the SOW before kickoff — no anonymous hands on your environment.
Cloud & Container
AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, IAM attack paths.
Application & API
OWASP Top 10, ASVS, GraphQL, OAuth/SAML/OIDC chains.
Mobile (iOS / Android)
Frida, Objection, MobSF, MASVS-aligned testing.
Compliance & GRC
ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2, PCI DSS v4, DPDP, RBI / SEBI mapping.
OSCP / OSWE / CRTO certified? Apply to join the AxVeil associate roster.
careers@axveil.comThreat Intel & Research
Latest from the AxVeil Research Desk
Attack methodologies, compliance playbooks, and threat-intel breakdowns — written by the operators who run the engagements.
DPDP ACTComplianceApr 2025
Penetration Testing Under India's DPDP Act 2023 — What CISOs Must Know
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 mandates robust security controls for data fiduciaries. Implement these controls before enforcement begins.
9 min read
Read more
APTThreat IntelMar 2025
Lazarus Group: MITRE ATT&CK Techniques and Detection Patterns
Mapped TTPs the group uses against Indian and SE-Asian banking targets. Sigma rules, EDR queries, and SOC-ready detection logic.
15 min read
Read more
Common Questions
What buyers ask before they engage.
Straight answers on methodology, deliverables, and how we run a safe, accountable engagement.
A scanner produces a list of potential issues scored by CVSS with no validation. We start there, then a certified operator manually exploits each candidate finding, filters out false positives, and chains low and medium issues into real attack paths. You only ever see findings we have proven are exploitable.
A CRTO/OSCP-certified operator, named in your Statement of Work, scopes the engagement, runs the testing, and signs the report. There is no anonymous junior rotation and no offshore hand-off mid-engagement — the person who scopes it is the person who tests it.
A one-page board summary for leadership plus a full technical report. Every finding is CVSS-scored, paired with a reproducible proof of concept, and written up as a remediation ticket your engineers can action directly. We also map findings to the frameworks and regulations relevant to your sector.
Yes. Within 30 days of report delivery, the same operator re-runs the validated findings against your fixes at no additional cost and confirms closure in writing. Re-validation is part of every engagement, not a separate SOW.
We agree explicit rules of engagement and OPSEC constraints during scoping, including testing windows, out-of-scope assets, and escalation contacts. Destructive or high-risk techniques are only run with written sign-off, and red-team work can be staged against a mirror or run under assumed-breach to limit production impact.
Most standard VAPT engagements are scoped within a few business days of receiving your asset inventory and objectives. Engagement length depends on scope, but we provide a fixed-fee proposal with a timeline before any work begins — no open-ended billing.
Ready When You Are
Find it first. Before they do.
Send us your asset inventory and audit deadline. We scope it and respond with a fixed-fee proposal and a sample report from a comparable engagement — usually within a few business days.
- Fixed-fee proposal, no open-ended billing
- A named, certified operator on every engagement
- Free retest within 30 days, included